Friday, November 19, 2010

Bones

This would have been great for my Halloween post. It looks like some type of ceremonial mask.

It’s actually the hip bone of a deer. The deer are so numerous that their bones are scattered all over the landscape. Sometimes I wonder how there can be so many live deer around when so many are dieing to provide a continuous supply of bones.

I normally don't find entire deer skeletons. I usually find single bones like this leg bone. One of the larger scavengers probably carried the bone here when it still had some meat attached. Large scavengers can quickly disassemble a carcass and scatter the parts for a great distance.

Bones rarely last long enough to become old. Once the meat is gone, other animals begin the process of breaking them down. Rodents use the bones as a source of calcium. It’s hard to find any bones that haven’t been gnawed by rodents.

Squirrels, mice, voles and ground hogs seem to be the major bone eaters. Rabbits are probably the greatest non-rodent consumers of bone. Most of the bone chewing occurs at night when rodents are most active. Fresh gnaw marks are usually evident every morning. The bright white color is an indicator of recent activity.

Smaller bones, like this vertebra, are carried by many animals. I’ve seen squirrels carry these up trees and have watched crows fly off with small bones. The speed with which animals consume the bones makes we wonder how they were satisfying their calcium needs 30 years ago when deer were still relatively scarce.

Hi Steve...I used to see more bones like these on the edge of a beach on some back woods lakes ..perhaps deer fallen through the ice or something like that !!I'm glad I don't have to gnaw on a bone to get calcium....and Steve 30 years ago they got calcium the same way I do, at the drug store!! : }

ABOUT BLUE JAY BARRENS

Located in the Bluegrass region of Southern Ohio, Blue Jay Barrens contains excellent xeric habitat inhabited by a wide variety of rare native plant and animal species. Since 1985, this private property has been managed to improve the integrity of the special ecosystems found here. This blog provides information on the current activities at Blue Jay Barrens.

RESPONSE TO COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS BLOG

It’s my intent to share information on current events at Blue Jay Barrens. Unless otherwise noted in the text, all photos were taken by me at Blue Jay Barrens.

Plant scientific names are from Gleason and Cronquist 1991. I realize that some changes in preferred nomenclature have occurred, but this is the principle reference I have been using for flora identification. Knowing this, I believe most people can figure out just what plant I’m talking about.

My discussions of flora and fauna are not intended to be a complete life history. There are plenty of good references for this type of information. I am discussing my personal experiences with plants and animals on this specific property. Any other information I may provide is intended to help you understand the significance of my observations.

MY 3 FAVORITE NATURE BOOKS:

1- Of Mosquitoes, Moths and Mice, by C Brooke Worth.2- Mosquito Safari: A Naturalist in Southern Africa, by C Brooke Worth.3- A Naturalist in Trinidad, by C Brooke Worth.

MY 3 FAVORITE FICTION BOOKS:

1- The Witches of Karres by James H Schmitz2- The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham3- The Windhover Tapes (1st 3 volumes) by Warren Norwood

MY 3 FAVORITE MOVIES:

1- Vanishing Point 1971 with Barry Newman2- Flim Flam Man 1967 with George C Scott - also like the book by Guy Owens3- The Lathe Of Heaven 1979 with Bruce Davison - also like the book by Ursula K LeGuin

MY 3 FAVORITE TV SHOWS:

1- The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan2- Fawlty Towers with John Cleese3- Kolchak: The Night Stalker with Darren McGavin